Cain Velasquez defended his UFC heavyweight title Saturday at UFC 166 by stopping Junior dos Santos with a fifth-round TKO and talk of who might be his next challenger started immediately.
UFC president Dana White suggested to UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the event that Brazilian Fabricio Werdum will in all likelihood get the next shot at Velasquez’s belt.
“Werdum’s probably next,” White said. “Werdum makes the most sense.”
Werdum (17–5–1) has won three straight fights and six of his last seven. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt submitted MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his last outing in June to establish himself as “next in line” at heavyweight.
“The guy’s a big, strong, durable guy and his jiu-jitsu … makes this fight very interesting,” White said. “We’ll see who has the better standup (and) for the first time, if it goes to the ground, I think it’s a dangerous place for Cain Velasquez.”
No fighter in the UFC has ever defended the heavyweight title more than twice consecutively. Velasquez (13-1) has now defended it twice in a row and will have the chance to make some UFC history in his next outing.
The 31-year-old is slowly establishing himself as the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history and a win over a fighter like Werdum would add to his growing legacy.
